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Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Thu, 22 Feb 2018 06:09:12 GMT2018-02-22T06:09:12Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
'A very scary movie': how China snatched Gui Minhai on the 11.10 train to Beijinghttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/22/how-china-snatched-gui-minhai-train-beijing-bookseller-hong-kong
<p>Revealed: details of the extraordinary detention of the Hong Kong bookseller as he sought help from Swedish diplomats </p><p>The 11.10am to Beijing left on time, gliding out of Shanghai’s cavernous high-speed rail terminal and darting north through the cheerless suburban sprawl.<br></p><p>On board the sleek, white bullet train sat an unlikely trio of Europeans, one of whom held the key to a real-life political thriller so frightening and tangled it has left all those trying to decipher it both gripped and unnerved. </p><p>It is quite clear to me that he has been tortured.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/22/how-china-snatched-gui-minhai-train-beijing-bookseller-hong-kong">Continue reading...</a>ChinaHuman rightsAsia PacificWorld newsSwedenHong KongThu, 22 Feb 2018 03:48:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/22/how-china-snatched-gui-minhai-train-beijing-bookseller-hong-kongPhotograph: Angela Gui/TwitterPhotograph: Angela Gui/TwitterTom Phillips in Beijing2018-02-22T03:48:34ZCashing out? Why notes and coins may become a thing of the past in Swedenhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/19/krona-public-toilets-cashless-sweden-coin
<p>Even public toilets are going digital in one of the world’s most cashless societies</p><p>At a public toilet in a shopping centre in Gothenburg, a struggle is taking place between old and new Sweden. Last year, the the shopping centre installed cash-free toilets, forcing customers to pay with their mobile phones – a process new to most.</p><p>“I was in a hurry, I really needed to go,” said Freda, 28, after a visit. “It was all a bit confusing, but I never carry cash, so I am just pleased I could get in.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/19/krona-public-toilets-cashless-sweden-coin">Continue reading...</a>SwedenEuropeWorld newsMoneyConsumer affairsDebit cardsMon, 19 Feb 2018 14:00:14 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/19/krona-public-toilets-cashless-sweden-coinPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoDavid Crouch in Gothenburg2018-02-19T14:00:14Z'Lies and exaggerations' says Oxfam official accused of hosting sex partieshttps://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/15/oxfam-official-accused-hosting-sex-parties-haiti-lies-exaggerations
<p>Former Haiti director Roland van Hauwermeiren says media will be ‘blushing’ when they hear facts about claims of sexual misconduct</p><p>The former senior Oxfam official accused of being at the centre of a sexual misconduct ring while working in Haiti has hit back at the “lies and exaggerations” about his case.</p><p>In his first interview since being accused of hosting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/13/oxfam-disgraced-haiti-official-liberia-post-roland-van-hauwermeiren">sex parties with prostitutes</a> while working in the country in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Roland van Hauwermeiren claimed many would be “embarrassed” when he finally told his version of events.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/15/oxfam-official-accused-hosting-sex-parties-haiti-lies-exaggerations">Continue reading...</a>Global developmentHumanitarian responseOxfamWorld newsCharitiesSocietyVoluntary sectorHaitiSwedenAmericasThu, 15 Feb 2018 12:36:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/15/oxfam-official-accused-hosting-sex-parties-haiti-lies-exaggerationsPhotograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty ImagesPeter Beaumont2018-02-15T12:36:04ZPolar prize: Metallica to receive 'Nobel prize of music'https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/14/metallica-polar-music-prize-nobel-sweden-stockholm
<p>Heavy metal band will accept prestigious £90,000 award at a ceremony in Stockholm in June</p><p>Metallica have been named recipients of Sweden’s Polar prize, considered one of music’s most prestigious awards. The <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/metallica">Los Angeles four-piece</a> are the first metal band to receive the honour, which has previously gone to acts including <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/jonimitchell">Joni Mitchell</a>, <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/paulmccartney">Paul McCartney</a> and Chuck Berry.</p><p>Drummer Lars Ulrich said: “It puts us in very distinguished company. It’s a great validation of everything that Metallica have done over the last 35 years. At the same time, we feel like we’re in our prime, with a lot of good years ahead of us.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/25/he-was-the-saviour-of-afghan-music-then-a-taliban-bomb-took-his-hearing">He was the saviour of Afghan music. Then a Taliban bomb took his hearing</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/14/metallica-polar-music-prize-nobel-sweden-stockholm">Continue reading...</a>MusicMetalPop and rockMetallicaCultureSwedenEuropeWorld newsWed, 14 Feb 2018 12:53:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/14/metallica-polar-music-prize-nobel-sweden-stockholmPhotograph: Pete Cronin/RedfernsPhotograph: Pete Cronin/RedfernsLaura Snapes2018-02-14T12:53:53ZOxfam's disgraced Haiti official left earlier post over 'sex parties'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/13/oxfam-disgraced-haiti-official-liberia-post-roland-van-hauwermeiren
<p>Roland van Hauwermeiren was forced out of Liberia role with charity Merlin over sex worker allegations in 2004, before working for Oxfam</p><p>The aid official embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal at the charity Oxfam had allegedly been forced out by another British charity seven years earlier, following an investigation into the use of sex workers.</p><p>Roland van Hauwermeiren agreed to leave his job working for the charity Merlin in Liberia in 2004, following an investigation into sex parties with local women, according to the humanitarian news website <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/investigations/2018/02/13/exclusive-oxfam-sexual-exploiter-haiti-caught-seven-years-earlier-liberia">Irin</a>. Merlin, a medical emergency relief charity, has since merged with Save the Children.</p><p><strong>What happened in Haiti?</strong></p><p></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/12/metoo-strikes-aid-sector-as-sexual-exploitation-allegations-proliferate">#MeToo strikes aid sector as sexual exploitation allegations proliferate</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/13/oxfam-disgraced-haiti-official-liberia-post-roland-van-hauwermeiren">Continue reading...</a>AidGlobal developmentOxfamWorld newsHaitiCharitiesSwedenVoluntary sectorAmericasEuropeTue, 13 Feb 2018 17:19:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/13/oxfam-disgraced-haiti-official-liberia-post-roland-van-hauwermeirenPhotograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersPhotograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersRebecca Ratcliffe2018-02-13T17:19:48ZIn Sweden, Noor went straight to school; in Britain, Ammar waited six monthshttps://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/13/sweden-school-britain-education-young-refugees
<p>A new study contrasts the radically different education offered to young refugees arriving alone in Britain and Sweden</p><p>Noor and Ammar are two teenage boys with a lot in common. They’ve never met, but both made perilous journeys to Europe, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/26/deal-france-hundreds-child-refugees-uk">arriving unaccompanied</a> at the age of 16. Both are bright, ambitious and determined to make a contribution.</p><p>Noor – sharp, confident; looks you straight in the eye when he speaks – hasn’t met Ammar, but he could be talking for both of them: “It took me six months to get here and we had a lot of problems on the way,” he says. “I didn’t know anybody, I couldn’t speak the language.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/19/refugee-children-uk-dubs-migration-eu">Revealed: rescued refugee children facing limbo – and worse – in UK</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/13/sweden-school-britain-education-young-refugees">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsEducationRefugeesWorld newsYoung peopleSocietyImmigration and asylumUK newsSwedenTue, 13 Feb 2018 07:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/13/sweden-school-britain-education-young-refugeesPhotograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianPhotograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianFran Abrams2018-02-13T07:00:08ZJulian Assange saga: judge to rule on arrest warranthttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/13/julian-assange-saga-judge-to-rule-on-arrest-warrant
<p>After six years holed up in Ecuadorian embassy, WikiLeaks founder faces a pivotal moment</p><p>It is nearly six years since Julian Assange disguised himself as a motorcycle courier and entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London to seek political asylum. His subsequent legal battle, so vast and protracted a CPS lawyer once deemed it “like an industry” in itself, comes to a pivotal moment on Tuesday, when a judge will rule on whether the warrant for his arrest has become disproportionate.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/11/sweden-tried-to-drop-assange-extradition-in-2013-cps-emails-show">Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013, CPS emails show</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/13/julian-assange-saga-judge-to-rule-on-arrest-warrant">Continue reading...</a>Julian AssangeWikiLeaksUK newsSwedenLawUS newsTue, 13 Feb 2018 06:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/13/julian-assange-saga-judge-to-rule-on-arrest-warrantPhotograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersPhotograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersNadia Khomami2018-02-13T06:00:07ZChinese media claims bookseller Gui Minhai offered national secrets to foreign groupshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/chinese-media-claims-bookseller-gui-minhai-offered-national-secrets-to-sweden
<p>Global Times claims Gui was involved in a plot to jeopardise security and that Sweden was trying to help him escape </p><p>Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai was transporting secret documents to the Chinese capital when he was seized last month, a Communist party-run newspaper has claimed, as Stockholm hit back at the decision to parade its citizen before the Beijing-friendly press. <br></p><p>Gui, a publisher of racy tomes about Chinese politics whose stranger-than-fiction tale might have been lifted from one of his own titles, was snatched on 20 January as he attempted to reach Beijing with two Swedish diplomats.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/chinese-media-claims-bookseller-gui-minhai-offered-national-secrets-to-sweden">Continue reading...</a>ChinaSwedenAsia PacificWorld newsEuropeSun, 11 Feb 2018 02:48:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/chinese-media-claims-bookseller-gui-minhai-offered-national-secrets-to-swedenPhotograph: Kin Cheung/APPhotograph: Kin Cheung/APTom Phillips in Beijing2018-02-11T02:48:31ZBookseller Gui Minhai surfaces in Chinese custody to deliver staged confessionhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/bookseller-gui-minhai-surfaces-in-chinese-custody-to-deliver-staged-confession
<p>Activists call the video, in which Gui criticises his home nation of Sweden, ‘the product of pure coercion’</p><p>Three weeks after he was snatched from a Beijing-bound train, the Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai has resurfaced in police custody, making what activists denounced as a surreal, venal and shameful video confession to a series of unspecified offenses.<br></p><p>“I feel ashamed about myself. I have made mistakes,” Gui, 53, is filmed telling a small group of reporters who said they had been given access to the prisoner by Chinese security officials. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/06/sweden-condemns-chinas-brutal-detention-of-bookseller-gui-minhai">Sweden condemns China's 'brutal' detention of bookseller Gui Minhai</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/bookseller-gui-minhai-surfaces-in-chinese-custody-to-deliver-staged-confession">Continue reading...</a>ChinaSwedenAsia PacificWorld newsEuropeSat, 10 Feb 2018 02:26:51 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/bookseller-gui-minhai-surfaces-in-chinese-custody-to-deliver-staged-confessionPhotograph: SCMPPhotograph: SCMPTom Phillips in Beijing2018-02-10T02:26:51ZDaughter of Swedish bookseller snatched in China fears he faces years in jailhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/08/daughter-gui-minhai-swedish-bookseller-china-fears-jail
<p>Gui Minhai, who specialised in gossipy books, was arrested while being taken by diplomats to embassy in Beijing</p><p>The daughter of a Swedish bookseller who was seized by Chinese agents while travelling with two European diplomats has said she fears her father is facing years behind bars after police claimed he was involved in “trafficking state secrets”.<br></p><p>Gui Minhai, a 53-year-old Hong Kong publisher who had specialised in gossipy books about China’s political elite, was taken from a Beijing-bound train on the morning of 20 January as he attempted to reach the Swedish embassy for a medical examination. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/08/daughter-gui-minhai-swedish-bookseller-china-fears-jail">Continue reading...</a>ChinaHuman rightsSwedenAsia PacificEuropeLawWorld newsThu, 08 Feb 2018 03:31:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/08/daughter-gui-minhai-swedish-bookseller-china-fears-jailPhotograph: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty ImagesTom Phillips in Beijing2018-02-08T03:31:34ZJulian Assange still faces arrest after judge rules warrant validhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/06/julian-assange-still-faces-arrest-after-judge-rules-warrant-valid
<p>Assange’s lawyers react by launching new application on public interest grounds</p><p>Julian Assange will continue to face arrest if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy, after a judge ruled that the arrest warrant against the WikiLeaks founder was still valid.</p><p>But after the senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot ruled against Assange on Tuesday, his lawyers made a separate application that the warrant should be dropped on public interest grounds, leaving open the possibility that he could still walk out of the embassy in the near future.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I can confirm that a package containing an unknown white powdery substance and a threat was addressed to my name. It was handed to UK diplomatic police. I understand they are performing toxicology and forensics. <a href="https://t.co/s0F2aCBSAS">https://t.co/s0F2aCBSAS</a>?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/06/julian-assange-still-faces-arrest-after-judge-rules-warrant-valid">Continue reading...</a>Julian AssangeWikiLeaksEcuadorUK newsSwedenUS newsEuropeWorld newsLondonTue, 06 Feb 2018 14:22:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/06/julian-assange-still-faces-arrest-after-judge-rules-warrant-validPhotograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty ImagesNadia Khomami2018-02-06T14:22:16ZSweden condemns China's 'brutal' detention of bookseller Gui Minhaihttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/06/sweden-condemns-chinas-brutal-detention-of-bookseller-gui-minhai
<p>Swedish citizen was picked up by plainclothes agents on 20 January as he travelled on a train to Beijing with two Swedish diplomats</p><p>Sweden’s foreign minister has condemned China’s “brutal” detention of a Hong Kong bookseller who irked Beijing with his tabloid-style stories about the Communist party elite.</p><p>Gui Minhai, a China-born Swedish citizen, was picked up by plainclothes agents on 20 January as he travelled on a train to Beijing with two Swedish diplomats. Supporters said he had been traveling to the Chinese capital for a medical examination. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/gui-minhai-us-calls-on-china-to-release-swedish-bookseller">Gui Minhai: US calls on China to release Swedish bookseller</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/06/sweden-condemns-chinas-brutal-detention-of-bookseller-gui-minhai">Continue reading...</a>ChinaSwedenAsia PacificWorld newsEuropeTue, 06 Feb 2018 02:25:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/06/sweden-condemns-chinas-brutal-detention-of-bookseller-gui-minhaiPhotograph: Vincent Yu/APPhotograph: Vincent Yu/APTom Phillips in Beijing2018-02-06T02:25:02ZBergman: why are the great director's women all tragi-sexual goddesses?https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/feb/04/bfi-bergman-why-are-the-great-directors-women-all-tragi-sexual-goddesses
<p>Ingmar Bergman’s spellbinding films made his female stars immortal. But they weren’t all grateful. Could this famously manipulative genius have survived in the #MeToo era?<br></p><p>In 1971, Ingmar Bergman had just completed his first English-language film, The Touch. It starred Elliott Gould as an American archaeologist in Sweden, who has an affair with a beautiful, troubled woman, played by Bergman regular Bibi Andersson. To promote it, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGHja_h0Fp0">Bergman and Andersson made an extraordinary appearance on America’s Dick Cavett Show</a> – an unimaginably rare TV outing for this director, rather like seeing Jean-Luc Godard pop up on Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show.</p><p>Seated next to his very quiet star, Bergman declared: “I think acting is a very special <em>women’s </em>profession. Women have much more talent for acting. I think women, perhaps from education, are more used to enjoying looking into the mirror that is the audience or the camera’s eye. If a man stands in front of a mirror, he can perhaps feel a little bit ashamed. He looks at his clothes, his hair and his face. A woman by education is not ashamed of looking at herself.”</p><p>When Ester masturbates, her moans of pleasure are weirdly similar to moans of pain</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/feb/04/bfi-bergman-why-are-the-great-directors-women-all-tragi-sexual-goddesses">Continue reading...</a>Ingmar BergmanWomenFilmCultureBFIRomanceDramaSwedenLife and styleFestivalsWorld cinemaFilm criticismSun, 04 Feb 2018 15:00:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/feb/04/bfi-bergman-why-are-the-great-directors-women-all-tragi-sexual-goddessesPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPeter Bradshaw2018-02-04T15:00:30ZThe Guardian view on Ikea: furnishing the modern world | Editorialhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/29/the-guardian-view-on-ikea-furnishing-the-modern-world
Ingvar Kamprad brought self-assembly to the masses through a business he built himself. He was not a saint, but he was a&nbsp;great capitalist<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ingvar-kamprad-obituary" title="">Ingvar Kamprad</a> started his career as a schoolboy selling matches that he bought cheap in Stockholm and sold round his home in the forests of southern Sweden. When he died on Saturday he was the eighth richest man in the world, and Ikea, the business empire he left behind, had graduated from matchsticks to using 1% of all the timber felled in the world. It was a remarkable feat of self-assembly, which has touched the lives of millions of people. At one stage it was calculated that 10% of the children born in Europe had been conceived in an Ikea bed. This extraordinary achievement was distinguished by its apparent ordinariness. Mr Kamprad himself was famously mean with his personal expenses, at least in public, flying economy class and taking the tube to visit his shops. His <a href="https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/does-ikea-truly-deserve-its-non-profit-status" title="">companies</a> have been at least as stingy when it comes to paying tax since he left Sweden in the 1980s: a <a href="https://www.greens-efa.eu/legacy/fileadmin/dam/Documents/Studies/Taxation/Report_IKEA_tax_avoidance_Feb2016.pdf" title="">report</a> by Green MEPs estimates that the group has dodged €1bn in European taxes in the five years from 2009 to 2014, and the EU is <a href="https://www.greens-efa.eu/legacy/fileadmin/dam/Documents/Studies/Taxation/Report_IKEA_tax_avoidance_Feb2016.pdf" title="">investigating</a> some of the arrangements that made this possible.</p><p>The paradoxes do not stop there: he came from a backward part of a then poor country but propelled the world towards modernity; his background and self-presentation were resolutely provincial and Swedish, yet Ikea stands for a completely globalised brand, as much at home in Hong Kong as in Cincinnati or Moscow. The only major markets it has not yet colonised are India and Latin America. He was a convinced <a href="https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/elisabeth-asbrink-en-gata-att-kamprad-var-lojal-med-fascistledare-och-alskade-sin-judiske-van/" title="">Nazi</a> in his wartime adolescence (the Swedish security services opened a file on him before he registered his first company at the age of 17) and even this century praised a Swedish fascist leader as a really impressive person – but one of his closest early collaborators was a Jew whose parents died in Auschwitz. He made immense profits by selling goods for less and less: the most popular Ikea lines are far cheaper now in real terms than they were 30 years ago. His company came to stand in the minds of millions of consumers for the freedom to furnish a home in new and personal ways, but he was ruthless with suppliers and at one stage one of his more popular sofas was assembled by political prisoners in what was then East Germany.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/29/the-guardian-view-on-ikea-furnishing-the-modern-world">Continue reading...</a>IkeaRetail industrySwedenBusinessMon, 29 Jan 2018 18:13:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/29/the-guardian-view-on-ikea-furnishing-the-modern-worldPhotograph: Claudio Bresciani/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Claudio Bresciani/AFP/Getty ImagesEditorial2018-01-29T18:13:11ZAs the rich get richer, the fabric of the state is torn to shreds | Lettershttps://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/jan/28/as-the-rich-get-richer-the-fabric-of-the-state-is-torn-to-shreds
<strong>Peter Robinson</strong> and <strong>Dr John Doherty</strong> discuss global wealth inequality; <strong>Nick Mayer </strong>says the distribution of taxes in Britain needs to be fairer; <strong>Richard</strong> <strong>Griffiths </strong>points to the benefits of high taxation in Sweden<p>Mark Littlewood does the Institute of Economic Affairs no favours in parading the usual excuses to justify excessive wealth (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/jan/22/inequality-gap-widens-as-42-people-hold-same-wealth-as-37bn-poorest" title="">Richest 42 people ‘own as much as world’s poorest 3.7&nbsp;billion’</a>, 22 January). “Race to the bottom”, “already highly taxed” – and not to miss a good opportunity, “higher minimum wages”, perish the thought, have no place in a civilised society. Apparently, it’s OK to sleep soundly in our beds knowing that 42 people have as much wealth as the poorest 3.7 billion.</p><p>As ever, we get no attempt at justification for an economic system that allows half the world to live in comparative poverty, and certainly no debate on how the accumulation of wealth is exactly mirrored by the abundant access to economic power.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/jan/28/as-the-rich-get-richer-the-fabric-of-the-state-is-torn-to-shreds">Continue reading...</a>InequalityTax and spendingWelfarePovertyMoneyTaxOxfamSwedenLehman BrothersPoliticsConservativesGeorge OsborneDavid CameronTheresa MayPhilip HammondMargaret ThatcherUK newsSun, 28 Jan 2018 18:05:50 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/jan/28/as-the-rich-get-richer-the-fabric-of-the-state-is-torn-to-shredsPhotograph: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Cultura RFPhotograph: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Cultura RFLetters2018-01-28T18:05:50ZIngvar Kamprad obituaryhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ingvar-kamprad-obituary
Swedish business magnate who founded Ikea<p>Ingvar Kamprad, who has died aged 91, is not a household name, but the company that made him a billionaire most certainly is. Ikea, the Swedish flat-pack furniture group with 412 stores in 49 countries, bears the name that Kamprad registered in 1943, when, aged 17, he needed to set up a company in order to buy a job-lot of pencils. It stands for Ingvar Kamprad and Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd, after the farm and village in the southern Swedish region of Småland where he grew up.</p><p>Nearly 75 years on, sales of self-assembly pieces such as a bookshelf called Billy and basics such as the sofa called Klippan, are thought to have amassed him a fortune of $54bn. In 2006, he was placed fourth in Forbes annual list of the world’s wealthiest billionaires. His affairs are complicated, however, involving a family foundation based in Liechtenstein, and he claimed his personal wealth to be far less.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ikea-founder-ingvar-kamprad-dies-aged-91">Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad dies aged 91</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ingvar-kamprad-obituary">Continue reading...</a>IkeaShops and shoppingRetail industryBusinessSwedenEuropeWorld newsDesignUK newsNazismSun, 28 Jan 2018 14:06:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ingvar-kamprad-obituaryPhotograph: INTER IKEA SYSTEMS B.V./HO/EPAPhotograph: INTER IKEA SYSTEMS B.V./HO/EPACaroline Roux2018-01-28T14:06:48ZIkea founder Ingvar Kamprad dies aged 91https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ikea-founder-ingvar-kamprad-dies-aged-91
<p>Company says man who founded firm in 1943 aged 17 died peacefully at home in Sweden<br></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ingvar-kamprad-obituary">Ingvar Kamprad obituary</a><br></li></ul><p>The founder of Sweden’s Ikea furniture chain, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ingvar-kamprad-obituary">Ingvar Kamprad</a>, has died at the age of 91.<br></p><p><a href="http://newsroom.inter.ikea.com/News/ingvar-kamprad-has-passed-away/s/1f55b948-e2b7-4a36-84c9-f5bf3510a1ec">The company said</a> Kamprad, whom it described as “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century”, had “peacefully passed away at his home” on Saturday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ikea-founder-ingvar-kamprad-dies-aged-91">Continue reading...</a>IkeaBusinessRetail industrySwedenEuropeWorld newsDesignArt and designCultureSun, 28 Jan 2018 11:43:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/28/ikea-founder-ingvar-kamprad-dies-aged-91Photograph: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty ImagesJulia Kollewe and Richard Orange in Malmö2018-01-28T11:43:41ZGui Minhai: US calls on China to release Swedish booksellerhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/gui-minhai-us-calls-on-china-to-release-swedish-bookseller
<p>Chinese-born citizen of Sweden was snatched while travelling with European diplomats on train to Beijing</p><p>The United States has called on Beijing to free the missing Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai after he was snatched last weekend by Chinese agents while travelling to Beijing with two European diplomats.<br></p><p>State department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington was deeply concerned about the detention of Gui, 53, a Hong Kong-based publisher who specialised in often thinly sourced tabloid-style books about China’s leadership.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/gui-minhai-us-calls-on-china-to-release-swedish-bookseller">Continue reading...</a>ChinaHuman rightsUS foreign policyAsia PacificUS newsWorld newsSwedenSun, 28 Jan 2018 03:23:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/gui-minhai-us-calls-on-china-to-release-swedish-booksellerPhotograph: Kin Cheung/APPhotograph: Kin Cheung/APTom Phillips in Beijing2018-01-28T03:23:37ZCrown jewel: the soft power of William and Kate’s Nordic visithttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/27/crown-jewel-william-and-kate-nordic-royal
<p>Royal couple will offer plenty of photo-ops but their real aim is to bolster Britain’s influence<br></p><p>From the colourful cobbled squares of Stockholm to the snowy enchantment of Holmenkollen hill, Oslo, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to both countries next week will deliver myriad photo-ops to saturate local media.<br></p><p>The royal couple will also deliver, the Foreign Office hopes, a clear message: Britain may be leaving the EU, but we are still part of Europe.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/27/crown-jewel-william-and-kate-nordic-royal">Continue reading...</a>MonarchyPrince WilliamThe Duchess of CambridgeSwedenUK newsEuropeNorwaySat, 27 Jan 2018 07:00:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/27/crown-jewel-william-and-kate-nordic-royalPhotograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesCaroline Davies2018-01-27T07:00:43ZJulian Assange asks UK court to drop arrest warranthttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/26/julian-assange-asks-uk-court-to-drop-arrest-warrant-ecuadorian-embassy
<p>WikiLeaks founder hopes ruling in his favour would allow him to leave Ecuadorian embassy</p><p>The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has asked a UK court to drop the arrest warrant that prevents him from leaving the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been living for five and a half years.<br></p><p>Assange, 46, skipped bail to enter the embassy in 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies. <br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/26/julian-assange-asks-uk-court-to-drop-arrest-warrant-ecuadorian-embassy">Continue reading...</a>Julian AssangeMediaEcuadorSwedenLawExtraditionUK criminal justiceAmericasEuropeWorld newsWikiLeaksUS newsFri, 26 Jan 2018 13:33:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/26/julian-assange-asks-uk-court-to-drop-arrest-warrant-ecuadorian-embassyPhotograph: Dominic Lipinski/PAPhotograph: Dominic Lipinski/PANadia Khomami2018-01-26T13:33:57Z